Damien Hugot: A Testament to How Good Grower Champagne Can Be
Damien Hugot and his wife Miwa are making some of the star wines of our K&L direct import portfolio. They do this the old-fashioned way, with hours of work in their 20 acres of vineyard, tending every plot like a garden. They are blessed with an incredible estate, almost all Grand Cru Chouilly and Cramant Chardonnay with a little bit of old-vine Meunier from the border between Monthelon and Chavot in the cool sud-Épernay sub region. Almost all the wines are made in foudre (very large oak barrels) with some barrique and a little stainless steel.
Their entry level wine, the Damien Hugot Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne $42.99 does not taste at all like entry level. Made from 40-year average age Chardonnay in Chouilly and Cramant that is fermented in foudre, this wine has been treated like a tête de cuvée, not an entry level brut sans année. With lovely baguette toast on the nose, a creamy mouthfeel and an incredible wave of Grand Cru chalk on the back end, this is a statement on just how good “entry level” grower Champagne can be.
For something even drier, more incisive and with more of a spotlight on the minerality, their Damien Hugot Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru $49.99. This wine is also made with old, massal-selected Chardonnay from the same two Grand Cru villages, made in foudre but dosed a little lower than the brut. This is a favorite at our house with sashimi bowls. It is also available in magnums—Damien Hugot Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Champagne Magnum 1.5L $99.99—in case you have a guest or two coming over!
If the scintillating electricity of bone dry Blanc de Blancs is your thing, the 2016 Damien Hugot Grand Cru "Cramant" Blanc de Blancs Millesime $64.99 is the best example in our stock. Made from vines from the 50s and 60s and exclusively from Cramant, this cuvée is done exclusively in stainless steel. This is one to act fast on, before our staff buys it all!
His single-vineyard Damien Hugot Grand Cru "Vieilles Vignes" Blanc de Blancs Champagne $99.99 comes from La Derriere de Mont Aigu, a small plot behind the hill of Aigu where he has vines planted in the 1950s. This wine is fermented in small oak barrique, and while it is dosed very low, it comes across as very rich—like Meursault, with huge amounts of creamy texture. It is an excellent partner for lobster, and one that fans of Taittinger’s Comtes de Champagne should take note of.
With a base very similar to the Extra Brut above, the Damien Hugot Rosé Extra Brut Champagne $44.99 gets its rosé color, aroma and flavor from a small edition of Meunier grown in Sud-Épernay. This wine, being 95% Chardonnay, is very much in the style of Billecart-Salmon’s Le Rosé. I love the light, elegant, yet generous with red fruit style of this wine. It is a great aperitif rosé that can also work really well with smoked salmon. Don’t miss these wines—they are some of our best, and not just a great deal, they are great grower Champagnes! A toast to you!